California Trying To Pass Yet Another Law Against Home Hash Extraction

The California State Assembly just went double dutch on home hash oil extraction. Though manufacturing cannabis concentrate without a license is already forbidden by state law, Cali lawmakers are trying to pass another law which would ban home labs using butane and other volatile chemicals.

On Thursday the State Assembly passed the proposed law. Marc Steinorth (R-Rancho Cucamonga), a proponent of the bill, argued to the assembly that the bill would help curb home hash oil lab explosions like a recent one in San Bernardino County. “As California comes to terms with newly legalized recreational cannabis, we must continue to protect public safety and keep these potentially explosive extractors out of residential neighborhoods,” Steinorth said, as reported by the LA Times.

If the bill is approved by the senate, it will be the newest addition to the monkey pile of bans on manufacturing hash oil in California. As it is, manufacturing a controlled substance is already a crime. So is unlawful possession of cannabis concentrates. These laws also come with sentencing enhancement if the lab is near a school (fair enough if the state doesn’t want its kids getting blown up).

In addition, regulations from the California’s Medical Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act (MCRSA), just released earlier this month, hang some new regulations on extract manufacturing. It says that all extraction labs have to use a certified closed-loop system with specific state-mandated standards. In addition, all personnel using to undergo training to handle it. The fee to apply for initial licensing is $1,000. After that, extractors will have to pay a yearly licensing fee based on their income, ranging from $2,000 to $50,000.

Added to all that, you have local cities, counties, and municipalities’ own individual restrictions and bans and you’ve got major headaches for extractors trying to comply with the law and boom times for marijuana-specializing attorneys.